Meet East Texas A&M University: Texas A&M-Commerce gets new name

People in the Panhandle have certainly heard of West Texas A&M University. But what about East Texas A&M?

In a regular quarterly meeting Thursday, Texas A&M University System regents voted to change the name of Texas A&M University-Commerce to East Texas A&M University, effective immediately, after months of discussions.

"This decision reflects the Board's commitment to strengthening the university's identity and increasing its regional visibility," reads a news release from the system. "The change aims to reinforce the university's mission to serve the educational needs of rural and urban East Texas communities."

The new name hearkens back to the Hunt County university's 19th-century roots. The school was established as East Texas Normal College in 1889. It's since undergone several name changes, with monikers including East Texas State Normal College, East Texas State Teachers College, East Texas State College and East Texas State University. When the university joined the Texas A&M System in 1996, it became Texas A&M University-Commerce.

The name East Texas A&M University will, officials hope, elevate the eminence of the institution known as "Old E.T." regionally and beyond.

"This is long overdue, and it returns to the original tradition of 'ET' as the university's symbol while raising its prominence," Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp said in the news release. "This university has always been bigger than one town in Texas."

The change follows months of conversations about a potential new name for the university. The school's President Mark Rudin pitched East Texas A&M after thousands of alumni pushed back on a proposal to rename the institution Texas A&M University-Dallas. An online petition to stop the change gathered more than 9,000 signatures.

Commerce is located about 65 miles northeast of downtown Dallas.

"We believe that this name change will better reflect our heritage and mission while allowing us to connect more deeply with the communities we serve," Rudin said in the news release. "This is not just about a name; it's about creating a stronger, more unified vision for our future."

The university will work in the coming months to complete the rebrand, including updates to the university's branding, signage, website, URL, email addresses and communication materials, the release notes.

Nick Long of Lubbock, a 1978 graduate of East Texas State, was thrilled to hear about the new name when a reporter broke the news to him Thursday.

"Fantastic! That is great," Long said with a chuckle. "I love it, because when I was there, they referred to themselves as 'E.T.', just like up in Canyon with WT. They had yells and chants about E.T.

"I didn't have anything against 'Commerce' in the name, but it was just always known as 'East Texas' ... so that is wonderful news to hear."